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Bill Raatz


Journal Contributor Bill Raatz writes:

Hello, my name is Bill Raatz and I am a geologist with the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, a division of New Mexico Tech. I have a BS and MS in geology from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My specialties are in carbonate sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, and petroleum systems, and two of my hobbies are the geology of the moon and the history of space exploration.

After graduating I worked for ARCO International Oil & Gas Co. in Plano, TX, largely on exploration projects in Peru, Ecuador, West Africa, and Myanmar (Burma). I then transferred to ARCO Alaska where I worked developing the Kuparuk River and Prudhoe Bay supergiant North Slope oil fields.

I have just recently begun work for the NM Bureau of Geology in Socorro where I will undertake a number of research projects relating to the stratigraphy and petroleum potential of various carbonate units, and also teach courses at New Mexico Tech.

The NM Bureau has a long history of involvement with astronaut field training which continues to this day.